Aim and objective: The rapid and large-scale spread of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has become a major cause of concern for healthcare professionals. The purpose of this study was to determine the preparedness of surgical specialty personals in managing surgery during COVID-19 pandemic.
Materials and methods: The present study was conducted online from May 5, 2020, to June 5, 2020, through a predesigned and pretested questionnaire-based proforma on the preparedness of surgical practice related to COVID-19 infection circulated through Google Forms. The participants selected were serving in Punjab and holding allopathic degrees in any of the surgical specialties. Exclusion criteria were responses by nonsurgical specialists and incompletely filled proforma. A total of 412 responses were received, out of which 318 were valid responses in terms of completeness of proforma. The data so collected were compiled and statistically analyzed by SPSS v.21 (IBM).
Results: Three-hundred and eighteen received responses were analyzed. Mean age was 42.3 ± 10 years. Male-to-female ratio was 2.38:1. Majority of the respondents were from general surgery specialty 130 (40.8%). Two-hundred and thirty-eight respondents were from private sector and 80 from public sector. One-hundred and sixty-six (52.2%) respondents reported existence of standard protocols and triage for COVID-19 at their workplace. Two-hundred and fourteen (67.2%) respondents stated that they usually get patients tested for COVID-19 before elective surgery. Two-hundred and seventeen (68.2%) of the respondents reported checking out the correct sequence of donning and doffing the personal protective equipment (PPE). Of the 170 respondents who had consumed hydrochloroquine as recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 114 (67%) were private practitioners and 56 (32.9%) were public healthcare sector professionals.
Conclusion: Surgical community need guidelines on how to deliver surgical services safely and successfully during COVID-19 pandemic.
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